Tag Archives: Fermenting

Post navigation

Feeling so happy that I can go out to my garden and get the produce for canning class tomorrow.

February 24 10:30 Here at ” The Farm “

I added a recipe so I can use that big beautiful cabbage. We will turn that cabbage into a fermented BeetApple Ginger Kraut.

I picked Brussel Sprout the other day so I can add the few that I picked today to make Pickled Lemon Thyme Brussel Sprouts. These pickled Brussel sprouts have a hint of lemon and thyme and make a great snack with a cold beer.

For those gorgeous beet we will make Roasted Beet Jam. I love beets; the sweet earthy flavor is so good with roasted meats and great with cheese. Place this on your next charcuterie platter. Your guests will be wowed.

For our meal we will have pasta and salad. For dessert we will have pie.

If you would like to attend class tomorrow I have two spots available.

A lot has happened since the last time I blogged; holidays have come and gone and I hope they were wonderful for you and your families!

We are already into the new year and I’m so excited to share new recipes with you. There are so many that I love, it makes it hard to choose which recipes I am going to include in the upcoming classes. In fact some of the classes will have three recipes instead of two!

I had so much food from the garden this past year and it tested my ability to not waste food. I made meals for the freezer, canned and dehydrated some of the produce from the garden and of course we ate a lot. I most have given away 100 pounds of eggplant. LOL. I’m planning on giving some meal planning tips in future blogs to let you in on what I learned along the way. This year I will also be including fermenting, pressure canning, dehydrating and making shrub drinks into some classes along with my “classic” recipes.

The garden is doing very well this season and I’m looking forward to starting classes picking produce to use in the recipes we are making. To see the awesome recipes being offered, please go to the 2019 classes page!

If you can’t make it out to The Farm, I also love teaching at The Kitchen in Alamo! It’s a gourmet kitchen in the Alamo Ace Hardware store and they want me back teaching in March or sooner. You can sign up for a scheduled class or private taught by me at The Kitchen – Just call Diane at 925-837-2420 to set a date. If you want to see me at The Kitchen more often let them know so we can make it happen!

Fermenting is another wonderful why of preserving food. It has been around for thousands of years. Fermented foods are good for your digestive system, they contain live probiotics. Lets look at Sauerkraut, it has two ingredients, cabbage and sea salt. No chemicals, no additives, not even vinegar…so simple. When it comes to fermenting food and being successful it is about the quality of water, quality of salt and, quality of produce. The water needs to be clean no chloride, chloramine or fluoride. If you have city water you probably have all three chemicals. The chemicals will interrupt the process, making the produce soft and slimy. You can use filtered water or bring your water to a boil and keep it at a rolling boil for one minute to purify. At altitudes above one mile ( 1.6 kilometers), you should increase the rolling boil time to three minutes and allow it to completely cool before using. Use high quality sea salt. DO NOT use processed table salt. They have anti-cake agents and iodine in them and they will discolor and make the produce slimy. They have been stripped of minerals too. Quality of produce should be the freshest and organic if possible. Ferment time can vary. It can be 3 to 5 days or even weeks. Check your sauerkraut every day or two. Open the jar and smell it, use a clean fork taste it. Make sure the produce is still under liquid. After a few days , it should get bubbly, after a few more days , it should start to smell and taste sour. You can eat it at any time , this depends on you and how you like our fermented foods. If you like it crunchier put it in the refrigerator to slow the process. Some people like to eat their Sauerkraut after about 8 days.
Many fermentation recipes rely only on vegetables, sea salt, a knife and jars. No special tools needed. But, I have found this great tool to make fermenting food a lot easier. I know the produce is under liquid with this device. It is called ” Kraut Source” Fermentation Made Simple. I bought three of them. Easy to use. They gave me a little “How To Use Book” and it has some recipes too. If you want to ferment food I highly recommend this tool. Go to http://www.krautsource.com.